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2011-11-14

Eyes Withtout A Face

Les yeux sans visage aka Eyes Without A Face (Georges Franju, 1960)

Entering into Les yeux sans visage wasn't very hard because I heard so much good words about it that it was just a matter of time before I actually watched it. Released by Criterion Collectin it wears the seal of approval of many cinephiles including myself. Categorized as a Horror movie or some might say a foreign film, Georges Franju's most famous film is an amalgame of Frankenstein, moral dilemma, thriller, medical experiences, and beautiful imagery.

Way way ahead of its time Les yeux sans visage, takes you on terrains you wouldn't guessed for a film of the 1960's. A doctor who's daughter has lost her beautiful face because of his bad driving that caused an accident has swore to himself to get her a face so she'll be able to relive again and have a normal life. The doctor reprensents how science wants to control nature or the creatures of God. To find a new face for his daughter he must kidnap young women with his wife and take off the flesh of their face and put it on his daughter. The surgery and the special effects are well executed and the scene is actually very convincing. Even with her mask, Christiane, the daughter, has somekind of scary ghost like look of the same kind as the Phantom of the opera.

The moral issues and the treatment of the story gives goosebumps and the clean black and white give a Universal look to the film which helps a little to be a less frightened because if it was in colours I bet many scenes would have shocked people even more. Mixing classic elements of the genre and the ever evolving medical science, Les yeux sans visage is a must see. This is a great Horror movie, a classic and probably a masterpiece of execution and storytelling.